Background

In April 1997, after receiving an initial round of private funding, CogniToy was officially launched. With the help of many talented people, we began shipping our first, highly acclaimed product, MindRover:The Europa Project, in November of 1999. Initially we sold MindRover from our own web site, later expanding to other online retailers. We eventually signed on with a distributor, entering into traditional retail stores for the year 2000 holiday season. We are currently exploring several exciting avenues for future game and/or toy development.

We have created add-on packs and modifications to the original MindRover engine, even using it for a classroom virtual robot simulator on a contract with the Department of Defense. We also created an add-on pack that brings the virtual robots into the physical world by simulating and then downloading code into a variety of small microprocessor devices such as the LEGO(tm) RCX intelligent brick.

Other revenues include wide-ranging contract work for a number of clients, from user interface evaluation and design, to business software architecture, to cell phone technology infrastructure as well as entertainment content, to web-based graphical presentations and games.

Skills

CogniToy's team comprises highly talented and motivated individuals, who leave egos at the door and work together to get the job done. The rich blend of fresh, new talent and seasoned professionals, of engineers and artists, provides an incubator for imaginative and creative, yet practical and workable solutions. Our employees have a broad range of backgrounds and experience, making for an agile team that can hit the ground running, easily adapting to a variety of projects and tools.

Our most recent activities are described below, and demonstrate the breadth and depth of our capabilities.

Game Development:

Our first PC-based game, MindRover, received exceptionally high praise for its uniqueness and open-ended game play. Hugely original, astonishingly innovative, refreshing, creative, intriguing, ingenious, highly addictive, compelling, intelligent, and educational are some of the ways it has been described. Associated Press writer Larry Blasko heralds MindRover as a "prince among games," that "looks and plays as if it were made by one of the software giants." Others have declared the design "conceivably one of the best pieces of interface work I've seen this year," as well as "so comprehensive and accessible to all that it cannot be described as anything short of brilliant."

Behind the game design is a sophisticated, portable, extensible, and highly object-oriented software architecture. The game framework and engine, including the simulation physics and OpenGL-based 3D graphics, were written in C++, making extensive use of the STL. The actual game content was programmed with our own ICE language, which is something like an object-oriented Visual Basic. This separation enables us to easily develop additional game scenarios and components that can be downloaded by our customers and added on to the game, without re-releasing the framework and engine.

We have been able to reuse various pieces of this technology in other games and projects we have worked on including cell phone games and supporting server technology.

In the spring of 2002 we expect to release 'Poker Snax'. As cards fall from the top of the screen, the player sorts them into poker hands gaining points for better hands and advancing through levels. There are a number of bonus cards, wild cards, folds, etc to keep players coming back for more. This game will be released on the PC first but it was designed for easy portability to other platforms.

Embedded Systems:

In MindRover, players program robotic vehicles using the game's visual wiring system, which automatically generates ICE code that is then compiled and run in a virtual machine (VM). The code generator, however, can be retargeted to generate code for other platforms, such as microprocessors that control physical toys. In our in-house experiments, we've used MindRover to simulate actual hardware devices, such as vehicles that have sensors and motors controlled by microprocessors (e.g. the Lego RCX, the Cricket, and the OOPic). We've then downloaded the code into the vehicles, and watched them navigate around a track, for instance, just as they did in the on-screen simulation. We formally released the LEGO RCX simulation pack at our website in early 2001.

Java applet development:

We've developed a number of Java applets for CogniToy and for other clients. Mini-MindRover is a 2D, web-based Java game intended to give players a taste of what MindRover is all about. In addition, we developed web-based Java versions of Yahtzee and Dropzee (a falling dice game based on Yahtzee-style scoring rules) under contract for Hasbro. In the process, we've developed our own set of reusable Java game components upon which to base future Java game development.

Web development:

We've designed and developed our own web site, as well as consulted on the design and development of others. In addition, we've developed web-based content, such as Flash presentations, under contract for other companies.

User Interface Design:

In addition to the highly acclaimed user interface design of our own products, we've consulted on user interface design for other clients. Some of our work has included testing existing user interfaces and making recommendations for improvement and change, as well as proposing entirely new ideas for user interface and content presentation.

System Architecture:

Aside from developing our own game-based software systems and architecture, we've also provided high-level architecture consulting to other firms. For example, we guided one client in converting an API-based SDK to a new, XML-based architecture, providing an architecture white paper and participating in the implementation as well.

Services

CogniToy provides a broad range of consulting and contract services. We pride ourselves on our ability to work closely with our clients to achieve a combination of quality and speed that appropriately meets the needs of the project. We communicate often and clearly, using whatever means the client finds most appropriate, from on-site meetings to instant messages.

Here is a sampling of what we can do for you:

• Game development for PCs, consoles, or online sites
• Software architecture, design, and specification
• User interface evaluation and design
• Contract programming
• Embedded systems development
• Language development – parsers, converters, preprocessors
• XML conversions
• Web page design
• Web-based content
• Graphical art

Clients

Our clients have included:

• Hasbro: Developed a pair of online Java games for the online site Games.com. The games were completed but were not posted before Games.com was sold and shut down. The producer said that in his opinion, CogniToy’s games would have been the best games on the site.
• Quickdot: Performed a usability study and evaluation of their product; created a preliminary design for a new product idea along with sample interfaces and art, packaged in presentation form; built a Flash animation to introduce new users to the product.
• ERoom: Wrote a white paper on the design of a new XML-based architecture for their third-party SDK. Worked with their development team to define the SDK design, and created the first-pass schema for the various data structures in the API.
• Call It Entertainment: Created 2 full featured games and 4 demo games using WAP and SMS technology for cell phones. We also designed and implemented the server-based player tracking system for loging, high scores, and game usage statistics.
• Accenture/US Department of Defense: Created custom MindRover scenarios and vehicles for a robotic simulation in a training class.